Jeremy Clarkson enjoyed a bumper £3.2m payday from the company set up to
cash-in on Top Gear before he sold his stake in the business to BBC
Worldwide.

The television presenter put himself in line for a windfall of up to £15m by selling his 30 per cent stake in the firm, Bedder 6, to the BBC’s commercial arm earlier this month - but not before securing a massive payout.

Mr Clarkson received a £2.7m dividend from the company in the 12 months to April 2012, up from £1.8m the previous year.

He was also paid an inflated talent fee of £456,000, marking a 30 per cent increase on his fee of £350,000 in 2011, according to documents filed at Companies House.

These payments came on top of the talent fees the BBC pays Mr Clarkson for his appearances on Top Gear, thought to be around £500,000 a year.

Mr Clarkson’s massive pay increase, revealed in Bedder 6’s annual accounts, is likely to speak fresh criticism of the amount of money the BBC pays to its stars.

BBC Worldwide established Bedder 6 with Mr Clarkson and Top Gear’s producer, Andy Wilman, in 2007 as a way of boosting their income without taking the money directly from the licence fee.

However, the corporation recently unravelled the deal as part of an attempt to simplify its pay structure and close the loopholes that lead to stars being overpaid. BBC Worldwide has now taken full ownership of Bedder 6, paying Mr Clarkson and Mr Wilman handsomely in the process.

Mr Clarkson will receive more than £10m for his share of Bedder 6, rising to £15m depending on its performance, whilst Mr Wilman, who had a 20 per cent stake in the firm, is in line for a windfall of up to £10m.

Mr Wilman also followed Mr Clarkson in extracting a sizable payout from Bedder 6 before selling his stake in the firm to BBC Worldwide.

He received a £1.8m dividend payment, up from £1.2m the previous year, whilst his talent fee jumped from £60,000 to £100,000.

BBC Worldwide said in a statement that the dvidend increase also allowed it to to retunr more money to the BBC.

Yesterday, Mr Clarkson was rapped by the BBC's governing body, the BBC Trust, for comparing a Japanese car to people with growths on their faces.

A report by the BBC Trust's editorial standard's committee (ESC) found that he had "strayed into an offensice stereotypical assumption" with the scripted remarks on the hit motoring show.